what do you look for in a car??

sean1141

So what do fellow boardies look for from a car? Is it looks, power, comfort, soul, reliability, cost to buy and run, tax price, brand name, extras, mpg, space, ammount of seats.. etc etc

I know there will be more than one thing but what are the three main things that you look for??

Now Im talking about the cars you have owned and not dream about owning


For me its mainly comfort, reliability and looks. my current car is a mk1 seat leon fr

L-M

Atm all I want is a high mpg, reliable work horse with plenty of space.

And I have it

EPM

Mine was spec, reliability and a bit of economical poke.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

But if the car doesn't have the options list raided a bit I'll ignore it.

paulmclaughlin

sean1141 wrote: »

So what do fellow boardies look for from a car? Is it looks, power, comfort, soul, reliability, cost to buy and run, tax price, brand name, extras, mpg, space, ammount of seats.. etc etc

Cheap to run. Prefer 5 doors. Reliable.

Something uncommon
I like driving something that I won't see many more of on the road.

Senna

MR2
Looks, reliability and fun to drive

Forester
AWD, huge space, fairly reliable and surprisingly comfortable.

Neither were bough with mpg, brand name, tax class in mind:D

Eric Cartman

options, size, power

no matter what it is it cant have any blank switches, has to have every possible option on it (the exceptions being things like a snorkel or child seat fixings)

has to be a big car , I would consider a 3 series / a4 small , if theres a LWB version it has to be that.

whatever the maximum power / engine size for the vehicle thats the model ill look for , the only compromise to that is where the insurance wont let me have it or that version isnt available in Ireland/UK inside my budget.

and if its a car that comes in hatch/saloon/estate it has to be the saloon model , i just dont like the look of the back end of most estates/hatchbacks
and has to have a double DIN slot for a stereo or a decent looking facia available, most manufacturers standard stereos just arent nice

alanmc

1. Power (said in Jeremy Clarkson roar)
2. Handling/Fun (I think these are pretty much synonymous)
3. Looks

... in that order.

pudzey101

Id honestly drive anything that had high MPG woudnt really care what others would be saying once im happy with what its returning! :P

johnos1984

Loose change

It's the first thing I look for in any used car I'm viewing. Pays the petrol costs of going to the garage

Gumbo

BMW 530d Aegean Blue Limited Edition

1. Spec
2. Performance
3. MPG

1. Leather, bluetooth, Sat Nav, Privacy Glass, Xenons, TV, Sport Spec
2. 194bhp, loads of torque, and should have more after the remap
3. well 2 out of 3 aint bad, but its not the worse at 25MPG (City Use)

patwicklow

4 wheels and it goes not bothered about ego.

james1410

for me its classics cars that stand out handle well are fun to drive are rwd or 4wd manual gearbox and a nice spec is always nice to but not a must!

my bmw e30 ticks all the box's its rare its one of the best looking cars built! its very simple to work on and maintain! its rwd and manual its roomy with a big boot its got power!

its reliable and it holds its value! optional extras can be easyle fitted aswell!

my granada which was stolen/recoverd today is very reliable has a huge amount of room handle's well for its size gets decent mpg is one of likely 25-30 still on the roads in ireland so it stands out hugely (which helped get her back)

if there was future cars i would go for it would be likely a mercedes w124 in black over graphite i love the look of them also an opel manta gte another car with great heritage style good value ect..:cool:

Anan1

Performance, handling, versatility, and I need a bit of off-road ability too.

Trader1991

Well if it doesn't have an engine that's a deal breaker!

E39MSport

Whatever takes my fancy on donedeal

But I always need something reliable for the alphabet. Currently a Bora.

There's also a few motors though that I hold close to my 'heart': -
- my current E31
- 80 series cruisers
- W216 (560)
- C126 (560)
- W215 CL600
- E34, E39 M5
- Charger r/t
etc

Not sure they'd ^ be categorised. Maybe old school bruisers.

anticonno16

Call me superstitious but I always look for an engine. And I always lift the cover in the boot and route around looking for change behind the seats.

tom traubert

Jim Jarmusch once told Tom Waits the following; Waits credits Jarmusch anyway.

"Fast, cheap, and good...pick two. If it's fast and cheap it wont be good. If it's cheap and good it wont be fast. If it's fast and good it won't be cheap"

So, there ya go, fast, cheap, and good... pick two words to live by.

scotty_irish

seats and a steering wheel.

E39MSport

kceire wrote: »

BMW 530d Aegean Blue Limited Edition

1. Spec
2. Performance
3. MPG

1. Leather, bluetooth, Sat Nav, Privacy Glass, Xenons, TV, Sport Spec
2. 194bhp, loads of torque, and should have more after the remap
3. well 2 out of 3 aint bad, but its not the worse at 25MPG (City Use)

Nice !!

CiniO

sean1141 wrote: »

So what do fellow boardies look for from a car? etc etc

looks - not really, however there are some car on the market that are so ugly I would refuse to buy

power - quite important

comfort - quite important

soul - everyone has different feeling about it. for someone certain car won't have a soul, while for other it will.

reliability - it's good when car is reliable, but it's not most important
cost to buy and run - important, as I can have only what I can afford.
tax price - I don't really give a damn, as no one checks tax in my area.
brand name - i don't give a h3ll
extras - the more the better
mpg - important, but don't mind unless it's reasonable. Pretty this is the same as cost to buy and run.
space - depeding what car is needed for
ammount of seats. - the same as with space.

challengemaster

I couldn't drive something I didn't like the look of without a very good reason. (First car - good reason)

Decent amount of space, high MPG and some power are vital

Voodoomelon

kceire wrote: »

BMW 530d Aegean Blue Limited Edition

1. Spec
2. Performance
3. MPG

1. Leather, bluetooth, Sat Nav, Privacy Glass, Xenons, TV, Sport Spec
2. 194bhp, loads of torque, and should have more after the remap
3. well 2 out of 3 aint bad, but its not the worse at 25MPG (City Use)

Ditto, the E38 Sport has looks, decent performance, comfort, luxury, road presence, decent MPG, reliability, specification and individuality. I'll find it hard to replace with anything else.

Daniel S

If it hasn't the fcukin' neeeeooouuummm effect, I'm not that interested :pac:

ottostreet

Can't be too boring. I've tried going down the sensible route of driving a TDI A4 & diesel Mondeo, and just felt like dying everytime I drove them (I far preferred the Mondeo to the Audi though!).

My current cars are Alfa 147 (for sale...love the car, its pretty, well specced, comfortable, and cheap enough to run without being bog slow...but just a tiny bit dull for me)

MR2 MK2...Was bought because of its reputation and the fact its not too bad tax and fuel wise. Drove it and LOVED the way it drove, so bought it.

FTO GPvR... A keeper/restoration kinda project. Was bought rough, but is fundamentally a good car, and its my 'childhood dream' car. Very rarely driven or used, but I won't sell it!

Basically, as long as a car isnt boring, and isnt ridiculously expensive, I'll probably like it.

bazz26

For me it was comfort, decent power while still being frugal, spec and entertaining to drive.

homer90

Changes constantly...... Loved high MPG in TDi form :rolleyes:
Currently its power, in the form of V8's ........ No going back now.

That sound, dear GOD....................

Mr Benevolent

For me it's:

...I dunno yet! Next car (April) could be a:

Rover 75 CDTI (comfort and interior)
MX-5 (handling)
Focus 1.6 (handling)
Fiat Coupe Turbo (power and handling)
325Ci (A bit of power and lots of handling)

So I value comfort, interiors, power and handling - but not all at once. I'm terrified I'll end up with a Golf or something.

Zubeneschamali

Fun. I spend enough time behind the wheel without making a chore of it.

166man

Car has to look great and sound good and have bags of character, I could never drive some boring diesel box from the Germans. MPG doesn't really matter that much either. Oh and nice wheels and steering wheel are a must too...

Jimmy Bottlehead

Three main things for me would be Looks, Drivability, and Reliability, but it's all about getting the most of those three within budget.

Cionád

Due to a longer commute, I wish I could replace my turbo petrol with a turbo diesel. 32MPG is becoming an issue.

I picked it for performance, reliability, comfort and its general great condition for an old car. Also personally like the styling of Volvo's, although it wasn't a huge factor in my decision.

(Volvo S40 2.0T)

E39MSport

My Bora returned 63mpg for the trip from North Kildare to the airport last Sunday

Cionád

E39MSport wrote: »

My Bora returned 63mpg for the trip from North Kildare to the airport last Sunday

Want to swap? I took public transport 3 days this week, I thought those days were over.